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Sunday, December 30, 2012

Wow... I've been away from the mats for a few months, thanks to IVF. So I hope to blog about my journey back to regular training... hope that blogging about it will help me the same way it helped me when I started training.

About the infertility thing, if you're curious... we successfully made a few eggs, fertilized them, and let the embryos grow to a stage that indicates they're likely to be chromosomally normal ie capable of establishing a viable pregnancy. We froze them instead of putting them back in me right away, because I have an immune disorder that makes my body attack embryos as if they were germs. So I will start some immune suppressant meds very soon, I hope, and as soon as they take effect, we'll thaw some embryos and put 'em back in, hopefully this spring.

But until then, I'm scared I've lost my passion for bjj, I've gotten lazy and fat and comfortable with not training, and I hope if anyone is still reading this, that you'll encourage me in my efforts to get back into the swing of things. January 2, here I come! (I'm traveling tomorrow, and academy is closed on January 1.)

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Sorry for not posting in forever... got busy with work deadlines and our Christmas party (a streamlined, smaller version this year with way less food and no gift exchange... and it was a success, so perhaps people really are satisfied as long as I make eggnog and the famous champagne punch! Lauren said it gave her goosebumps!)

So we're on the East Coast for the holidays this year... we're in DC right now, staying in the home of a blogging jiu jitsu buddy that I've never actually met in person (and still haven't, as he's in Florida right now...) Doing all the touristy stuff.. then headed to Virginia for time with my family. We'll be back home on NYE.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

LondonReal TV interviewed Cathy Brown, the first female boxer to be crowned British Champion (previously ranked #3 in the world in the flyweight category before she retired in 2007), and here's a little highlight.

Thursday, December 06, 2012

I don't think I'll do this on my dining room table... but if I could find a smaller branch, and put it on the "bar" that separates my kitchen from my living room and breakfast area, it would be great... found this in today's WaPo article on making the holiday easier (and all it did was make me want to hunt for moss, tree branches and so on when otherwise I wouldn't have done a "centerpiece"!)

This is not a traditional shepherd's pie, as I make it with ground
beef instead of lamb... but I think it's awesome... it's a great way to
use leftover mashed potatoes or it takes hardly any time at all to make
some specifically for this dish. If you use lefties, you will probably
want to add more milk to make them more creamy than thick.
Makes a 9x13 baking dish-full.

2-3 lbs ground beef, no more than 10% fat is best

small bag of frozen peas (you could add chopped carrots, mushrooms or corn as well)

1 small can (I think 6 oz) tomato paste

olive oil, 1-2 Tbsp.

1 yellow onion, chopped

3-5 cloves (up to you) garlic, pressed

sweet (not hot) paprika, salt, pepper, oregano to taste

3-4 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped

4-8 Tbsp. butter for mashed potatoes, to taste

1-2 cups milk for mashed potatoes, to taste

Preheat
oven to 350 degrees. In big pot, cover your chopped potatoes with 1"
water and add a little salt. Bring to a boil over high heat then lower
the heat so you don't boil over. Cook potatoes until tender and fork
pierces without any resistance. Drain all the water out and leave
potatoes in hot pot, no lid, on hot (turned off) burner. You want them
as dry as possible. Water causes the starch molecules to swell, break
down, and gelatinize (get pasty).

In large frying pan, saute
onions in olive oil over med-high heat until transparent. Add ground
beef and break up, stirring occasionally until evenly browned. If
you're watching your calories, you can drain the fat at this point, but
you will lose some flavor. Add garlic, oregano, and paprika... I think I
usually add about 2-3 tsp of paprika and the same of oregano. Stir in
tomato paste and reduce heat to medium, stirring regularly to blend
well.

Meanwhile add butter to your potatoes and mash. (Don't add
milk before or with the butter; you need the fat molecules to coat the
starch molecules first before the cold liquid.) After they're fully
mashed up, start adding milk until they get to the creaminess you
prefer. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Taste your beef
mixture and add salt and pepper as needed. I usually add about a
teaspoon or two of salt, depending on how much beef and what brand of
tomato paste I used (some are salty already.) Put your frozen peas in a
bowl in the microwave and defrost them, then use a slotted spoon to get
them out of the extra water and stir into the beef. Pour the beef/pea
mixture into the 9x13 baking dish, then pile the mashed potatoes on top
in heaping giant spoonfuls, smoothing it out to seal all the way to the
edges of the dish. I find it makes a nicer presentation to have little
"crests" or "peaks" of potato sticking up instead of being perfectly
smoothed out, because you'll broil it at the end and get them nice and
brown.

Usually with my oven, I cook this for 40-45 min-- if your
dish is glass, you'll see the beef mixture bubbling away under the
mashpots-- and then I put it under a hot broiler for about 10 minutes to
make the top crispy and golden brown.

Especially if you put
additional veggies in, this is a relatively healthy one-pot meal which
really smells good while cooking and warms the tum.

If like me you only put peas in, here's a recipe to go with it:

Sauteed Zucchini with Onions- serves 3-4

Halve
and chop into 1/2" slices 3 or 4 zucchini squash. Cut 1/2 of a yellow
onion into thin wedges. Saute the onion in 1-2 Tbsp olive oil over
med-high heat, stirring occasionally, until brown on the edges and
pretty soft. Sprinkle in some salt and pepper. Add your zucchini and
continue to saute until zucchini is getting softer and golden brown.
Sprinkle a little more salt if you think it needs it, then add a good
splash all the way around the pan of white balsamic vinegar (at least a
good couple tablespoons, maybe up to 1/4 cup or so.) Keep stirring
while the vinegar turns into a glaze, about 2-4 minutes, and remove from
heat. Optionally you can serve with goat cheese or parmesan sprinkled
on top.

Here you can see our dinner on Monday night-- the shepherd's pie didn't broil as long as I might have because we were hungry :)

Wednesday, December 05, 2012

I am happy to take special requests for cooking info! What do you do when your landlord simply refuses to fix your oven? (If you're in the US, you threaten to sue them under the Landlord Tenant Code of your jurisdiction... but I digress..) If you're somewhere else and it's just not worth the fight, or whatever... you make do. So-- by special request-- some recipes for cooking that require only stovetop, microwave, or slow cooker means of combining heat and foodies to make yum.

In a skillet, heat the olive oil and brown the chicken on both sides. Place in a crockpot with remaining ingredients and cook on low 8-9 hours, depending on your crockpot. When done, shred with two forks and serve with juices over rice or egg noodles.

Trim the chicken, removing the tenders, and slice on an angle into 3/4-inch-thick pieces; season generously with salt and pepper.

In a 10-inch straight-sided sauté pan, heat 2 Tbs. of the oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add half of the chicken and cook, flipping once, until lightly browned and just barely cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate; repeat with the remaining chicken. Cover with foil to keep warm.

Return the pan to medium-high heat and add the remaining 1 Tbs. oil. Add the mushrooms, season lightly with salt, and sauté, stirring with a wooden spoon, until softened and well browned, 3 to 4 minutes.

Reduce the heat to medium, add the garlic, and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 20 to 30 seconds. Pour in the Marsala and scrape the pan with the spoon to loosen any browned bits; simmer until the Marsala is reduced slightly, about 2 minutes. Stir in the cream and simmer until thickened slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Add two-thirds of the Gorgonzola and stir until melted, 1 to 2 minutes.

Taste the sauce; add salt and pepper as needed. Add the chicken along with any accumulated juices and turn to coat with the sauce. Serve immediately, sprinkled with the remaining cheese and the parsley.

Heat 1/4 cup of the oil in small skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and chile peppers and cook, stirring frequently, until just brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Process with cilantro, 1/3 cup lime juice, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and black pepper in blender or food processor until smooth. Put shrimp in shallow dish or ziploc bag and spread half the garlic mixture over them, stirring to make sure you get coverage of all shrimp on all sides.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden but still slightly crispy, about 5 minutes. Chop enough of the onion to make 1/4 cup and set aside. Put rest of onion on a plate. Save the skillet.

Peel and pit avocados, dice in skins, and put flesh in a bowl. Dice tomato and add with reserved chopped onion, remaining garlic mixture, remaining lime juice, and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Coarsely mash with potato masher or fork.

Return skillet to medium heat and add remaining tablespoon oil. Add shrimp to hot pan, discarding excess marinade, and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook on high heat 3-5 minutes, stirring/flipping frequently to cook both sides, until shrimp are pink and opaque but not further or they will get tough. Remove to bowl. Put reserved sliced onion in the skillet to reheat. Scrape up any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Wrap tortillas in damp paper towels and microwave on high 1 minute. Remove paper towels and keep tortillas warm. Toss shrimp with onion in pan. Serve with tortillas and guacamole.

Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the onion, orange zest, oregano, and pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until it has almost evaporated, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and their juice, olives, and capers. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, and cook until the sauce has thickened, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the penne and cook until al dente. Drain well.

Add the shrimp and anchovies (if using) to the sauce in the skillet. Raise the heat to medium high and cook, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour the pasta into the skillet and toss with the shrimp sauce. Divide the pasta among 4 bowls. Sprinkle with cheese and parsley.

Bring a 6- to 8-quart pot of well-salted water to a boil over high
heat. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions until al
dente. Gently stir in the spinach and cook until wilted, a few seconds.
Reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking water and drain the pasta and spinach.

Return the pot to the stove over low heat, add the mascarpone,
Parmigiano, and lemon zest and cook until the mascarpone has melted,
about 1 minute. Add the pasta, spinach, reserved pasta water, and the
prosciutto and toss gently. Season to taste with pepper and serve.

Tuesday, December 04, 2012

First, welcome back from Thanksgiving, did you get fat? I was so bloated from the hormones and steroids for my IVF cycle, on top of extra padding from not training so long, I really didn't get any fatter despite eating my weight in food... but anyway!

One example of the wonderful jiu jitsu community-- I enjoyed a visit with Slideyfoot from Gracie Barra Bristol in the UK. It was his first trip to the US and he did a BJJ tour of Texas!

Couple days in Dallas first, where he got to train at the Machado school with Triin of Fenom Gi, and stayed with a complete stranger he met on CouchSurfing. Then he came to Austin and stayed with me and my husband for a week... sadly, I wasn't training, but he did get to train with my husband at his academy (a Cleber Luciano affiliate). He also trained a few other places, did some touristy things, saw a Walmart (it was on his list of things to see!) and helped me prep dinner for twenty on Thanksgiving day, and better yet-- clean up afterwards :) It was fantastic getting to know in person someone I've known on the internet for years... Slidey was always encouraging and helpful to me from whitebelt on, and I'm privileged to call him a friend. (And now I have a couch to surf in the UK!)

Let me interject another facet of fabulous BJJ community-ness: see that tshirt I'm wearing? (The tiger was drawn by Meerkatsu!) It's from a SUPER-cool new gi company, OK! Kimonos. They are a one-man business, specializing in kids' gis, and they offer a gi exchange! When your kid grows out of his gi, you can send it back for a 20% discount on the next one... and Brendan, the owner, sends all those kids' gis to a free BJJ-for-kids program in the favelas of Rio! There aren't any kids gis for sale at this exact moment on his site but I am assured they'll be up shortly! Brendan tells me, "What occurred was the original pants for the gis weren't the quality
that I wanted and I had to reorder them. They'll actually be arriving
this Friday to my house and if the quality is up to par, I'll have them
up on the site on Monday, along with some AWESOME backpacks that I'm
super excited about." He's also probably doing a big sale for the grand opening, so please stay tuned if you have little ones!!

Unfortunately, the hormones I was taking were working a little better than expected, and my IVF doctor in NY called the day before Thanksgiving to tell me I'd likely need to get there early so I didn't miss the eggs' ready-time. Had to change plane tickets for me and my husband, and had to abandon Slidey a few days early. Thank goodness for good jiu jitsu friends who all jumped at the chance to entertain him, take him around, and make sure he made it to the bus okay for the Houston stop on his tour. Check out all his reports on his blog.

We had a nice time in NY, stayed with cousins and had a successful retrieval of 6 eggs, of which only one made it to the proper developmental stage to be frozen, but hey, I'm 40 so that's actually pretty good to even get one. We had to spend one night in the city, and ended up at a hotel RIGHT NEXT DOOR to Marcelo's academy! Too bad my husband hadn't brought his gi, though I think Marcelo's original location is still out of service due to a water leak in the floors above them. (I also think their temp location in Chelsea got washed out thanks to Sandy...)

One more example of how wonderful the BJJ community is... here is your opportunity to share with the less fortunate! Remember the baby-BJJ community in Moldova and the Give a Gi program started by Christian the BJJ Globetrotter (below in the hat)?

Well, Bobby, the Peace Corps guy who started BJJ there, is promoting the first ever Moldovan BJJ Cup tournament in January! And he needs your help. Please-- send him $20 and a patch from your academy. He'll use the money to buy a gi (cost, around $130) and patch it up with all the patches he receives-- it will be a prize for the "competitor with the most heart" (to give everyone a fair shot at winning it, versus the usual prize for the absolute champion). If there is extra money, it will help cover the costs for transport and entrance fees for otherwise indigent competitors or future similar projects (though your patch will still go on the gi.)

Depending whether you're in the States or Europe, please send a patch and US$20 (or your equivalent) to:

c/o Robert McMasters

7605 Mokena Ct.

New Port Richey, FL

34654

McMasters Robert

Cal. Grivitei 192

Ap. 49, Et. 1, Sc. C

Bucuresti

Romania

You can also paypal him the money, at bobby.mcmasters(at)gmail.com.

Thanks for being part of this wonderful BJJ community and do your part in spreading the love to the peeps in Moldova!

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